First, the obvious

Start easy: Pick a low-stakes but high-impact area (ideas: bathroom vanity, entryway, desk). Toss all the trash and move out items that belong elsewhere. That's all. No tough decisions, no emotional turmoil; just stuff, out.

Next, define what the space will be for. Long-term storage, or high-use items? Should it remain totally clear, or can it use decor? Who needs to access the space, and when? Now we can assess what belongs there, and what doesn't.

Corral & Contain

Before anything has a home, everything needs to be in one place so you can see what you actually have.

Corralling means gathering. Everything out, everything visible. So if we're working on your bathroom vanity, that means getting all the cosmetics and personal care items (or whatever you want to store in there) from around the house into one place (and potentially micro sorting). What doesn't fit back in the vanity, goes out the door. 

In a New York City apartment, this isn't a philosophical exercise about woulds, coulds, or shoulds. We have limited wall space, shallow closets, and no room for "maybe". Every object needs a home it can reliably return to – and fit in – so that stuff doesn't end up unmanaged all over again.

Bonus Content

"Deal with It" Day (or Power Hour)

You'll undoubtedly uncover projects that can't be handled in a single session. On a designated day, your own personal power hour, deal with them.

This isn't procrastination. It's triage. Not everything needs to be solved right now. Some things just need a time slot, and a commitment to actually show up for it. 

Some decluttering approaches say: deal with every project immediately, no matter how long it takes. Others have you put things in bins to squirrel away, never to be seen again. Both are unrealistic unless you're a Type-A like me. A scheduled "deal with it day" works because it gets the open loops out of your head (and clutter off your surfaces) without requiring you to solve everything at once.